A federal judge has dismissed a case from the U.S. Department of Justice against Kentucky election officials that sought to gain access to voter registration data, including sensitive information such as driver’s license and Social Security numbers.
In an opinion released Thursday, District Judge Claria Horn Boom citeda recent ruling regarding Michigan voter datafrom the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The DOJ later asked the 6th Circuit to rehear the Michigan case. Under the second Trump administration, the DOJ sued numerous states, includingKentucky, for access to sensitive voter data arguing it was entitled to the information under the the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
With the precedent from the appeals court, Boom wrote that Kentucky’s voter registration list “is not a record or paper subject to Title III of the Civil Rights Act.” She wasappointed to the benchby Trump during his first term.
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a Republican, and members of the Kentucky State Board of Elections werenamed as defendantsin the lawsuit, which was filed in February in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Kentucky.
“We have won our case in federal court on protecting voter privacy,” Adamssaid on XThursday afternoon. “Kentucky’s elections are secure, and so is your personal information.”
A spokesperson for the DOJ did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Thursday.
As part of her analysis, Boom reviewed correspondence between the DOJ and Adams in the summer of 2025 regarding the request for voter data, but the letters from the DOJ did “not specify a basis for the request.” Before that, Boom said Kentucky officials do not “come into [the] possession” of the statewide voter list in the way the term is used in the Civil Rights Act because it is created and not given by a third party.
Under the second Trump administration,DOJ officialsbegan asking states for voter information last year. The DOJ has sinceshared voter roll informationwith the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to search for noncitizens. Homeland Security is building outa powerful citizenship verification programand touting it as a way to ensure election integrity.
Ina December interviewwith the Kentucky Lantern, Adams said the DOJ had requested “the entirety of the voter file, including personal identifying information, driver’s license and social security number.” He added that his office shareda voter information filethat candidates often request to build information to contact voters before an election. The file includesinformationlike party affiliation, street address and birth year. Adams said his office did not provide driver’s licenses or Social Security numbers.
Other Kentuckians sought to intervene in the case, includingtwo votersand voting groups represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky andJefferson County Clerk David Yates, a Democrat. Jefferson County is the most populous county in Kentucky.
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